Strategy to end homelessness endorsed

Wellington
City Council’s Community, Sport and Recreation Committee
has today endorsed Te Mahana – a strategy to end
homelessness in Wellington.

A community-led
strategy, Te Mahana emerged from a day-long practitioner
‘lock-in’ in May 2012. More than 100 people representing
government agencies and community organisations, along with
people experiencing homelessness, identified key actions for
a collaborative and co-ordinated approach to ending
homelessness.

Mayor Celia Wade Brown says she is
delighted the Council is taking a lead to coordinate the
agencies and organisations dealing with homelessness.
“Together we can solve homelessness in the Capital."

She says committee members today also called for more
commitment from the Government to deal with homelessness and
related social problems in a coordinated and effective way
– and not just in Wellington.

“As Nance Thomson
from the Soup Kitchen said in a message read to the
committee, ‘The kaupapa of Te Mahana is a framework on
which to build a national response to homelessness and thus
we need to make it count. To have the Council lead by
example by being the first to sign up would send a strong
message to NGOs and Government departments alike.’”

The Committee’s Chair, Councillor Paul Eagle, says Te
Mahana will address issues in a more systematic way, putting
people experiencing homelessness at the centre of
service–delivery solutions.

“Te Mahana pulls the
sector in Wellington together under a unique governance
arrangement – in partnership with Maori who are currently
over-represented – to deliver outcomes guided by a set of
principles such as housing being a basic human right.”

He also challenged the Government to not only endorse
the strategy but provide stronger leadership and resource
Wellington’s issues better.

“The message is
clear, we’re taking homelessness seriously but we need
Central Government to step up and ensure the relevant
agencies have the necessary resources to deliver the
transformation we’re seeking.”

Organisations
involved in this initiative include several church-run,
community and Maori social service agencies, NGOs and
government agencies.

A strategic co-ordination group
for government agencies working on social issues in
Wellington will further consider and endorse the work.

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